Talking to a chum a couple of days ago, and he asked a question, which I was unable to answer, so hope that someone on Thai Visa can help.

Like a lot of people, a chum has his house here in Thailand, in a company name, his lawyers holding the required 51%. What is the legal position when he dies, how can he ensure that the house and land passes on to his next of kin (all U.K. residents). He is concerned that because the majority share holding is in the lawyers name, that the property could be taken over by them.

Talking to a chum a couple of days ago, and he asked a question, which I was unable to answer, so hope that someone on Thai Visa can help.

Like a lot of people, a chum has his house here in Thailand, in a company name, his lawyers holding the required 51%. What is the legal position when he dies, how can he ensure that the house and land passes on to his next of kin (all U.K. residents). He is concerned that because the majority share holding is in the lawyers name, that the property could be taken over by them.

1. Firstly does he have a valid Thai Will?

2. This extract was taken from the web site of www.siam-legal.com

For those who own land under a company on a freehold basis, upon your demise, your property would not simply be passed on to your heirs. Instead, it would be passed on in the form of shares. In the other words, your heir will receive shares of the company as opposed to the actual property itself which can involve complex legal mechanisms.

Maybe he needs to talk to them - or someone like them - to address this issue so his family doesn't have a big battle on their hands when the time comes